Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers previously testified at trial that they had nothing to do with the vandalism, but a prosecutor said that the two convicts now blame booze for the act as they admitted before sentencing that they had been on what he termed a “moronic mission” to topple the tree.

Two men have each been jailed for more than four years for cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree in the United Kingdom. The tree is a much-loved and well-known global landmark whose dramatic silhouette had featured in a Hollywood movie.